4 ms·

I got pulled over and given a warning when someone passed me to the right. I told the officer I totally support the policy. In my defense, I was overtaking ot

I got pulled over and given a warning when someone passed me to the right. I told the officer I totally support the policy. In my defense, I was overtaking other vehicles to the right and moving at the speed of the vehicle ahead of me, but as I was driving a large vehicle I was preserving a longer follow distance than the tailgater (err, driver) who passed me thought I needed... AITAH?

tstrimple 2y ago
Nope. And so many of these traffic laws often neglect to take actual safety into account. I’ve certainly been one of those annoyed drivers behind large vehicles taking forever to pass. Ultimately it’s the driver of that heavy vehicle to determine what is safe or not and not the impatient asshole behind them. That being said, it’s often difficult from behind to differentiate between the safety conscious and the inconsiderate who just like to park on the left. I probably tend to be in the top 10% of drivers regarding speed on any given highway. I’m usually the passer and rarely the passee. I stick to the right lane when traffic is light, but may cruise in the left when it requires me to weave in and out for no reason. But I keep an eye on my mirrors and make sure to get out of the way for the few who are faster than me. Sometimes even if that means I slow down a bit to get right. My goal when on the highway is to not make others put on their brakes or react because of me. My second goal is to not put myself into positions where I have to brake myself. That means good follow distances so minor changes in traffic speed doesn’t cause a chain reaction of tail lights that lead to traffic snakes. Most of what I have seen that causes dangerous situations is when people act abnormally. If the cruising speed on a highway (regardless of posted speed limit) is 80mph and you’re cruising at 70mph in the left lane you are causing a higher risk of accidents regardless of whether you’re doing the speed limit or not. If the roads are covered in ice, you should absolutely be ticketed for driving the “speed limit” when most everyone else is crawling along. So much of traffic boils down to “we live in a society” and so much of what makes traffic miserable is the same folks who can never understand that concept.

tstrimple 2y ago

Nope. And so many of these traffic laws often neglect to take actual safety into account. I’ve certainly been one of those annoyed drivers behind large vehicles taking forever to pass. Ultimately it’s the driver of that heavy vehicle to determine what is safe or not and not the impatient asshole behind them. That being said, it’s often difficult from behind to differentiate between the safety conscious and the inconsiderate who just like to park on the left. I probably tend to be in the top 10% of drivers regarding speed on any given highway. I’m usually the passer and rarely the passee. I stick to the right lane when traffic is light, but may cruise in the left when it requires me to weave in and out for no reason. But I keep an eye on my mirrors and make sure to get out of the way for the few who are faster than me. Sometimes even if that means I slow down a bit to get right. My goal when on the highway is to not make others put on their brakes or react because of me. My second goal is to not put myself into positions where I have to brake myself. That means good follow distances so minor changes in traffic speed doesn’t cause a chain reaction of tail lights that lead to traffic snakes. Most of what I have seen that causes dangerous situations is when people act abnormally. If the cruising speed on a highway (regardless of posted speed limit) is 80mph and you’re cruising at 70mph in the left lane you are causing a higher risk of accidents regardless of whether you’re doing the speed limit or not. If the roads are covered in ice, you should absolutely be ticketed for driving the “speed limit” when most everyone else is crawling along. So much of traffic boils down to “we live in a society” and so much of what makes traffic miserable is the same folks who can never understand that concept.